I wonder, as a reader, if you’ve ever thought about what’s important about starting and ending a book. Is there a method? Is there some standard way to do it? Some best practices? Well, of course, I have some ideas as a book coach, but you as the author always get to decide that.
Today I’m talking with Megan Dougherty, who’s working through writing her book, and we’re going to go through her actual intro and exit from the book, her wrap-up chapter.
There’s a lot to talk about. There’s some interesting aspects to learn about what the purpose of an intro is and why you want to do it a certain way.
What is the purpose? It’s to invite your reader into your world, into your book, and make it interesting enough for them to connect with and say, wow, I made the right decision. This is the book for me. I can’t wait to dig in.
I invite you to do that in this podcast too, to dig into your own ideas about how you would start and end your book. What would that look like? So think about that as you’re listening to our conversation about starting and ending Megan’s book.
And then at the end, there’s a little juicy question that I asked Megan to consider about switching things around in her book at the end. You’ll have to listen in to see what Megan says about that. So I’ll see you on the inside.
Listen to the episode below or continue to read the blog post!
You’ll learn about:
- How to start and end a book
- Crafting an engaging introduction
- Turning the spotlight on the reader
- Setting the book framework
- The final chapter of your book
- Considerations for your book’s ending
Don’t forget to grab a copy of our free workbook — your unique story can make a ripple.
Watch the Episode:
How to Start and End a Book
Megan: “I’m at that point. It’s got to be done. I’ve got drafts, but I’m sorry. You know I’ve got drafts, you’ve seen them. But the beginning feels super, super high stakes to me. In terms of getting people’s attention right away, not immediately turning them off after they’ve purchased the book and setting the tone so I want to get that right.
And then the ending, for the opposite reason is now they’ve finished the book. I need them to like me and want to maybe work together or tell their friends how great this book is. So help me, please.”
Amy: “Are there any other reasons that it feels particularly high stakes, these two bits for you?”
Megan: “Probably that I’ve left them to the very end. Everything else, basically, is done. It’s just the very beginning, except for the foreword that someone was kindly writing for me, and then, the very ending matter has not yet been completed. Because it seems, I don’t know, it almost feels like there’s this right way to do it and I don’t know what that is.
I’ve read the beginnings and endings of other business books and they often start and end kind of with the opening and the conclusion of different narratives. I’m not wild about that personally, even though I do understand it’s best practice. But what do you think?”
Amy: “Okay. Let me ask another question if I may. So with that traditional way of doing beginnings and endings, how does that strike you as a reader?”
Megan: “You’re never supposed to say this, but I find them really boring. If I’m getting a business book, I want information. I don’t want a bunch of stories about stuff. I would like the steps. I would like the instructions and the information for how to apply the content of the book.”
Amy: ”Okay, great. Now I want to segue. We’ll get back to that. I agree, intros are often not read because of that tradition of being like droning on about stuff. Let’s just cut to the chase. Let’s get to the meat of the matter.
I used to never read intros and now I actually read them because I know what’s involved. And that’s part of the reason I came up with the idea, and you did exactly this, is to write your introductions last. Because do you see now why I said that?
Because my theory is that you learn a lot through the writing of your book, and I saw it happen for you where you were coming up with new ideas and you ended up rearranging some things and stuff like that. So you’re going to end up having to go back and rewrite the introduction anyway.
It’s probably going to be a lot more interesting because you’ve just finished celebrating, you just wrote the book. Now you can go back. I use that analogy of building the house and then the introduction is opening the door and inviting people in.
I do want to look specifically at your introduction, so that’s going to be really fun to see. I’ve read through it and I have a couple of things I want to point out to you. But just for people who are writing a book, pro tip, write your introductions last.
The purpose of an introduction is not to be some boring blah blah blah about the author. Its intention, as far as I’m concerned, is to make a connection with your reader, to really invite them in to something that’s going to be terrifically valuable for them. But there’s also another thing, and that’s building that relationship with you as the author, because you’re asking them to spend hours and hours with you.”
Crafting an Engaging Introduction
Amy: “Your book, it’s meaty. It’s got a lot of stuff in there. They’re probably going to wander around in there for a while. And so when they get to knowing you right off the bat, they’re going to say, okay, I kind of like Megan, I’m going to keep reading the book. She gets me and she’s going to show me something that other authors have not shown me. That’s why I’m still looking.
That’s the purpose of any introduction is just really making that connection and getting them interested in reading the rest of the book. So it definitely needs to not be boring.”
Megan: “And of course, that is because I don’t want to be boring. It’s a book about podcasts. It’s a dense book with a lot of sometimes tedious instruction in it. So I do definitely want to at least set the tone that this is going to provide a little amusement as well.”
Amy: “Exactly. So you do that right off the bat. You say at the beginning, I’m just reading this, so I’m in the habit of skipping the preliminaries and getting right into things. It makes better audio for a podcast, right? I wanted you to read that first kind of numbered list that you put in there, and then I’ll talk a little bit about that.”
Megan: “Okay, perfect. And just for context, for watchers and listeners in the future, this has gone through a couple of iterations so far. This is my current most favorite of my drafts that you’re about to hear and we’ll now see what Amy says about it live.”
Amy: “Megan, it might be more effective if you just start at the beginning and read through those first three numbered bits.”
Megan: ”Okay, here we go:
In a podcast, you have just seconds to grab someone’s attention and start delivering value. So I’m in the habit of skipping the preliminaries and getting right into things. It makes better audio.
But this is a book and not a podcast episode, and since it’s already in your hands or on your screen, I don’t need to convince you to get it in the first 30 seconds. And what’s more, the fact that you have it means that I can guess a few things about you.
One, you’ve either got a podcast or you’re feeling pod-curious and a show might be in your near future.
Two, you believe that podcasting is a good marketing strategy, but the exact details as to why and how it’s a good marketing strategy are a touch vague.
Three, you absolutely do not have the time or money to waste on an audio-based wild goose chase.
If I’m right, or if I’m wrong, but you’re still interested, then hello, welcome to an evidence-based approach to podcasting.”
Amy: “That’s the intro to your intro, and you don’t also don’t call it an introduction which is great. What I like so much about what you’ve done is we go back to when you defined your audience.
And I was so impressed that you so deeply understand your people who are really interested in doing a podcast, not just for the fun of podcasting or because they’re super passionate about podcasting, but because it’s going to help build their business.
What you’ve done so brilliantly here is that you’ve said, I see you and I get you. And so the person reading, they’re saying, oh, phew! She doesn’t believe in doing all these preliminaries. She’s jumping right into it. And now you’re reflecting back to them who they are. And then they can say, yes, I like that. And I also like some other things about Megan, which is, she’s not trying to sell me on the thing.
That’s really a bugaboo of mine. I hate that when someone’s trying to sell me the book. I’ve already bought the book. I’m reading it. You don’t have to convince me. Something about it is already interested me. And now we’re getting into the meat of things.
My point is that the connection is being made with your reader right from the beginning. That’s what I really love about this. That’s the purpose of your introduction. So I think you’ve already shown really nicely in the first part of it, that you understand them, that you know and like them, which makes them know and like you.”
Turning the Spotlight on the Reader
Megan: “I’m glad that you like it, and I feel very good about it now. But I know in previous iterations, I know often there’s more of an origin story right towards the beginning and more about how this book came to be and why it came to be, which it did not sit right with how I do business or how I talk to people.
I don’t know if it was you who told me or somebody told me to, you could just turn it right back around on the reader, right at the end. Instead of taking the spotlight on me, I can turn it on them a little bit as the person who is reading the book. And I think that that was a little bit of a breakthrough for me in terms of creating something I’m comfortable with.”
Amy: “It’s the anti-boring introduction, where it’s all about somebody they don’t even know yet. This is saying, this book is about you and it’s for you. And you’re actually naming who they are. There’s already saying, wow, this author has some insight into what makes me tick and why I care about doing this big thing called creating a podcast. I think you’re spot on.
And let me talk a little bit about the end of an intro. So the beginning of it should draw your reader in, really keep them reading, and at the end, invite them into the rest of the book. You do that really beautifully at the end.
And so the last line is, then let’s begin. You’re inviting them to, okay, now we’re going to get going. I would always recommend people do that where the person feels a little connected to you now, and so now we’re going to begin the journey. Let’s go.”
Megan: “It was really interesting, because I’d say the lower three quarters of the introduction, that came as if it was received from someone else. When you flip, it’s really in flow and it’s really easy to write and it goes really like that was easy, easy, easy, easy, getting to the end of the introduction. The beginning of the introduction, my God, I agonized, agonized over this part of the book. It’s the only part I’ve really agonized over, I think.”
Amy: “It seems to flow really well and meet the criteria of what you want to do in an introduction. I really don’t have any critique or feedback about things that you need to add. It feels complete. It’s a nice length. It’s long enough to draw them in. Some introductions are 10 pages.”
Megan: “We’ve got businesses to run.”
Amy: “We don’t have time for that.”
Megan: “Awesome. That’s great. And so for posterity, the criteria for an introduction, so it needs to get the reader to feel seen, to know and like the author.”
Setting the Framework and Validating Reader Choices
Megan: “Is there anything else it should be doing in terms of setting the framework for books?
I feel like one of the other things I did is I really did understand there is one key thesis of what I’m sharing and that’s, you need to change the way you think about podcasting.
That was what I really wanted to do in that opening chapter is that what an introduction is also for, or could that be elsewhere?”
Amy: “Thank you for bringing that up, Megan, because the other purpose is to validate that they made the right decision by buying this book. It’s like, you are in the right place. You have done the right thing. This is going to give you exactly what I promised.
And that’s what you do, you go through why they want to read this book or what it’s going to give them. It’s like the benefits of what they’re going to get from it. So they should be pretty excited by the time they get to the end of the introduction, was like, okay, I didn’t buy some book that is not going to answer my problem, not going to solve my issue or give me the information that I need. So it’s that sort of patting yourself on the back, like, okay, I did good. Now we’re going to learn something.”
Megan: “And now I quite like my introduction. I think you watchers and listeners of the future will like it also. It’ll be available in fine retailers, fine purveyors of books, anywhere near you. You can read the whole thing. It’s great. Gold star from Amy, as you see.
Anything else we should know about intros before we move on to the part I’m now a little bit less confident, of the end of the book.”
Amy: “I think it’s just everyone is unique. Just like your voice is unique in your industry and in your space, so make it yours. Like we said at the beginning of this episode, you don’t want to make it some boring, traditional thing that people are like, yeah, I’ve seen this 20,000 times before.
Shake it up a little bit, put some of your personality into it. That’s what you’ve done really beautifully. Put your mind in the mind of the reader. You bring in your own perspective, but you also exactly know the perspective of your reader. It just is nice to feel seen. So that’s a beautiful thing that you’ve done for your readers is to really invite them in and say, it’s okay, I get you.”
Megan: “Good. I’m so glad. All right. Bring on the pain, let’s talk about the end.”
The Final Chapter
Amy: “As you do so beautifully, you bring your own unique flavor to the end of the book too. The purpose of that last chapter is to wrap things up, maybe remind people of all the absolute value that you’ve given them throughout the book and again, to help them feel seen.
And in a non-fiction book, business book like yours, you want to give them, okay, now what? What’s the next step? I think you’ve done a beautiful job and I do have one little thing I’m going to suggest that you do to make it even up level it even more. I’m trying to think if there’s a spot that you can read from this, just to give listeners another little teaser from the end of the book.”
Megan: “Let me say first, just to put a little more context, I am less confident in the end of the book, especially now that we’ve had this conversation, because it perhaps ineffectively, it does kind of introduce a new idea at the end of the book. And I’m not sure if that’s the way to be going.
It’s not very long. Why don’t I just read the current end, since it’s probably going to change before publication. Teaser, everybody. I will do that now. And it’s been a couple of days since I’ve looked at this so this will be interesting. Okay, good. Give us lots to chew on.
So the title of this is currently What Kind of Podcaster Are You?
There are many different types of podcasters.
There are those who live and breathe podcasting and who love the medium for the craft of it. And there are people who see it as a stepping stone to recognition, fame, riches, and glory. And there are those who see it as an effective method to support the other things that you do.
So I have just one more thing to share before you go off and create a new metrics tracking spreadsheet and call up your best clients for interviews. You can create a great podcast that makes a measurable difference in your business without becoming a podcaster.
You can be one, of course, if you like, but a podcast for your business can also just be something that you do for a particular purpose to achieve particular goals. The podcast industry is full of rah, rah, rah, podcasting is the best.
And the expectation seems to be that you’re going to be over the moon. Can’t wait. Oh my God. So excited to start one. And you’re going to add podcaster to your LinkedIn bio and your about page and maybe your business cards.
If you’re podcasting to achieve specific business goals and not because it’s the single most important way you’re going to make your mark on the world, then that attitude can be a little overwhelming and even a little distasteful. It’s one of the reasons I delayed having my own show for so long, even while I was producing for others. I had and have no desire to be a podcaster.
So I call myself a reluctant podcaster because my show is an effective means to an end rather than a core part of my identity. So I want to emphasize that it’s optional. That’s why I focus so much on the value, measurable, repeatable value a podcast can deliver to your business’s bottom line. If that’s what matters most to you as well, maybe you’re a reluctant podcaster too.
I think it’s a good thing because we’re not in this only for the love of the game. The podcasts we create need to pull their weight in our businesses, and if they don’t, or we can’t identify where and how they’re providing a return, the project has got to go, and there doesn’t need to be an emotional element to that decision. We have data.
So I hope that what you’re feeling right now at the end of a very long and rather technical book about counting is inspired about your business and what a podcast can do for it, about bringing more efficiency to your operation, about seeing different kinds of value from a single work product and about experimenting with something new and iterating until it works.
Because when you’re podcasting for business, your podcast isn’t really a podcast. It’s a tool that you use to create different kinds of value for your company. And you decide what that value is when the format follows the function using the Business Podcast Blueprints method, you’ll get to decide how much of that value there’s going to be.
And that’s the most important thing because remember, podcasting is just part of your job.”
Amy’s Thoughts on Megan’s Final Chapter
Amy: “I have some things to say about that, but I want to ask you, what about this are you not happy with or worried about?”
Megan: “My vanity is coming through a little bit more because now when I read my own work, I’m always like, oh gosh, I’m clever. How good I am at this? Awful, awful.
I think it’s the reluctant podcaster bit, because I am using that a little bit more in different messaging that we’re doing, and it is becoming more part of the branding of the company and about me as someone who speaks in the industry. But I don’t know if this is the right place to introduce that idea. And so I think that’s making me feel a little anxious about including it here.”
Amy: “Okay, good. I’m glad I asked. I’m going to go through some of the strengths of this and why it’s great. And then let’s talk about reluctant podcaster and how you can really make it powerful at the end. This is fun. For me, it’s fun.
So I said, part of the purpose of the ending is to remind your folks of the value that they’ve just gotten from the book, and you do that. That’s why I focus so much on value, the measurable, repeatable value a podcast can deliver to your business’s bottom line.
And you talk about the metrics. You mention all the things that this is the tremendous value that you’ve gotten from the book and that now you can take into your own podcast. That’s great. It also brings it really back to them. You’re talking about what it can do for you and you bring yourself back into it too, as the reluctant podcaster.
So what I think is missing and how you can tie in reluctant podcaster to what’s missing is, what’s missing is, okay, now I get it. I’ve got all this information. I, as a reader, I may be feeling a little overwhelmed and like, I’m supposed to just go like, do this now, like create my own podcast?
I would encourage you to put a call to action, to add a call to action. If you, too, are a reluctant podcaster and you’d like some help creating your own thing, that’s what we do. That’s what my company does.
It doesn’t have to be heavy handed or super salesy or anything like that, but I think it’s a clever way to tie in the reluctant podcaster because you’ve already identified yourself as that reluctant podcaster and you’ve moved through it and helped dozens and dozens of other podcasters, some of whom are reluctant, to do this. I think it’s like, if you wanna be, if podcasting’s the big, huge thing in your life, or if you’re a reluctant podcaster, we can help you. How does that feel? How’s that land?”
Megan: “I’m glad you bring it up because there are a few points throughout the book where I do have calls to action and describe ways that we can help. There’s one, towards the beginning of the middle section where I say, as you read this, you may find yourself thinking, this is brilliant and there’s no way I’m ever going to do it. Here are the different ways we can help you.
I think there’s another mention somewhere else and then in the chapter immediately preceding this one, there is quite a lot of content. So it’s questions you should ask a service provider before hiring them. And I have my company’s answers to each one of those questions underneath the instructional content about what you should think and how you can evaluate the responses.
Coming right off of that, it feels like that might be a little, I don’t want to make it too salesy, especially right at the end, especially after they have just gotten this, here’s all the reasons One Stone Creative is so awesome. I feel like adding it again might be a little much.”
Reimagining the Book’s Ending
Amy: ”Let me ask you an interesting question. What if, what kind of podcaster are you? What you have now as the closing, what if it’s the penultimate? What if hiring help is actually the closing of the book, the last chapter?”
Megan: “It could almost be like an appendices or a reference for after.”
Amy: “It’s not really an appendix, I wouldn’t say. I mean that because that relegates it to a reference section. You really do want people to read that, hiring help, and then it’s got your calls to action. Just sit with that. I don’t expect you to make a decision right this second, but that is a possibility.”
Megan: “The issue there then is right now, the ending of the current conclusion is really good, but the ending of the hiring help one is just a normal ending. It’s not a book ending.”
Amy: “We may want to revisit that. But so it says, remember, podcasting is just part of your job. So I think that could transition really nicely to, it’s part of your job, but you don’t have to do everything yourself. There’s hiring help, which is consider that so. I don’t know”
Megan: “It’s a good ending note is the thing. And I think making it not the ending note would definitely lessen its impact. But again, maybe I’m the only one who sees the impact.”
Amy: ”Something to think about.”
Megan: “Yeah, because I think I have tried to be very mindful. This book is going to be a selling tool for me, like it’s going to be useful and someone can buy it and take it and run with it and do great things with it.
But I’d like some of them, three or four a month to say, hey, I’m gonna hire this company to do this for me. That’s one of my main reasons for wanting to write this. Not the only one, but one of them.
I’ve tried to balance it and I did a little math on it. There’s about 1600, 1700 words of self-promotional content out of the post 80,000, which I feel like is a reasonable proportion. But I don’t know if I feel right about ending on a selling note. I feel like the information’s all there.”
Amy: “It’s all there. Yeah, it is. What I do like about your current ending is that it does really bring it back to your reader, the focus again, just like in the introduction, is on them.”
But these are interesting questions to ask yourself, anytime that you’ve got a flow going in your book, just to ask the question, what would it be like if we switched this to be in front of that? Does it still flow? Does it work? Does it flow better or does it, I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right.
As an author, you can do it any way you want, and always keeping that eye on what’s best for your reader, what serves them best is going to help you make that decision. Because yes, it’s a tool for you as an author, as a business, but you’re providing tremendous value to your readers and so you always want to have them foremost in your mind.”
Embracing the Reluctant Podcaster
Megan: “Ultimately, I do want to give people the chance to raise their hand and say, yeah, I’m kind of a reluctant podcaster. Like, people are telling me all the time I should have a podcast and I’m just like, ugh, because we can make that person’s life very easy.
I’d like them to also know it’s okay to not be super into it, because the industry’s really into it. And you don’t have to be. It can just be work, and that’s cool. So I do really believe in that.“
Amy: “Okay. Good. See, that’s the thing, I love to ask the question and then you as the author always have final say, but you get to say, no, this is how I want to end the book. This feels right to me. Everything’s there.”
Megan: “I’ll put a link to our website on the next page.”
Amy: “And the website will be on the back cover, it will be in the author bio, people will be able to contact you very easily.”
Megan: “It’ll be no secret. I might actually just let it ride. Now I’ve spoiled the ending for everyone who’s ever gonna buy the book. The good stuff’s in the middle, everybody.”
Amy: “There’s lots and lots of good stuff that you’ve never heard before.”
Megan: “No, that’s okay. Good. That’s a good process. I was less comfortable about it, and then you’re like, why don’t you change it? I’m like, no, no, don’t want to, which was revealing in its own way.”
Amy: “But that’s great. You feel strongly about it. You want to end it this way. You want to bring it back to your reader and that’s great. And it does have a nice relation to the introduction, that sort of book end kind of idea.”
Megan: “So I’ll probably give it a last little polish, maybe rework a couple of things. But I think functionally, it’s pretty much what it needs to be. Thank you for teaching me how to start and end a book.”
Amy: “Well, you’ve done a beautiful job. Congratulations.”
Megan: “Thank you.”
Final Thoughts
Hey, it’s Amy again. I hope you had as much fun listening as I had talking with Megan about the beginning and ending of her book.
It’s always creative fun to dig into the actual content and see what’s going on there.
I hope that you learned something from it and it got you thinking about how you would start and end your book.
Since we’ve been talking about the beginning of the book, and more importantly, the end, it means that Megan is coming to the end of her book writing journey.
Next, we’re going to be talking about, okay, manuscript is done. Now what? And there’s a lot to it. So I invite you to keep listening to the next episode as we move on to, okay, now the heavy lifting of the book writing is done, what are all the things that you need to think about next as an author? See you then.
Key Quotes
“I call myself a reluctant podcaster because my show is an effective means to an end rather than a core part of my identity.” – Megan Dougherty
Resources
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Megan Dougherty | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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